Best cruise lines for themed voyages from celebrity chefs to cha-cha

Sam Jamieson, The Daily Telegraph

- Oct 18, 2012 12:05 am

Skift Take

Themed cruises is one area that special interests are welcome.

— Dennis Schaal

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Themed cruises have been a well-established part of the cruising mix for years, offering mainstream diversions such as photography, ballroom dancing and cookery. What has changed is the variety and scope of special interests that are now available. Today’s passengers, for example, can become amateur sleuths on murder-mystery sailings, sing on musical voyages, or reach for the stars on astronomy-themed cruises. And for those who feel a little more daring, there are even nude cruises.

If you have a sweet tooth, Thomson Cruises’ (0871 231 4691; thomson.co.uk ) offers chocolate-making and tasting voyages in its “Live the Dream” workshops on its transatlantic crossings.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines (01473 746175; fredolsen cruises.com ), meanwhile, has its own programme of special-interest voyages called Vistas, offering more than 15 topics, ranging from antiques and classical music to Nordic legends, while Saga Cruises (0800 096 0079; travel.saga.co.uk ) offers a similar programme of themed sailings. Oceania Cruises (0845 505 1920; oceaniacruises.com ) featured its first “Signature” cruises this year with voyages exploring subjects such as health and wellness, wine and food and music.

And talking of music, you’ll find musical interludes including jazz sailings on Crystal Cruises (020 7399 7601; crystalcruises.co.uk ) and a 200-strong choir made up of passengers on a special National Symphony Orchestra sailing next September with Cunard (0843 374 2224; cunard.co.uk ). Or you can dance, and not just ballroom either: P & O Cruises’ Strictly Come Dancing sailings feature some of the show’s stars.

If you prefer walking, try one of the “Footloose” walking-themed sailings in the Scottish Highlands and islands with Hebridean Island Cruises (01756 704700; hebridean.co.uk ). Hurtigruten (020 8846 2666; hurtigruten.co.uk ), meanwhile, offers various nature-orientated itineraries along the Norwegian coastline.

More novel options tend to be one-offs organised by travel companies chartering cruise ships and organising their own entertainment. For example, the American company Sixthman (001 877 749 8462; sixthman.net ) specialises in “rock festivals at sea”, while another American company called Whodunit Productions (001 661 297 3208; whodunit cruises.com) offers murder-mystery cruises; the Texan firm Bare Necessities (001 512 499 0405; cruisenude.com ) is the company that offers those naked sailings (to the Caribbean).

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About Sara Macefield

Sara is an award-wnning cruise writer, and a travel journalist for more than 20 years.